Healthy New York Minimum Income Qualifications

The Health Care Reform Act of 2000 gave rise to Healthy New York. Healthy New York subsidizes health insurance for individuals, sole proprietors, and small businesses. Healthy New York’s goal is to provide insurance coverage to those who may not afford it by providing more affordable health care. There is no minimum income requirement to qualify for coverage. However, there is a maximum income limit as well as other requirements that should be met in order to qualify for the program. Exceeding the maximum income disqualifies you from coverage through Healthy New York.

Minimum Income

No minimum income requirement is set in order to qualify for Healthy New York. However, there are other similar programs that offer services to individuals and sole proprietors with low income. One such program is Family Health Plus Which offers free coverage as long as gross income does not exceed $10,890 annually (as of 2011). The maximum income limit increases according to family size, a family of four can have up to $33,525 annual income. Family Health Plus is a cheaper substitute to Healthy New York. Qualified candidates have free coverage and the only out-of-pocket expenses are co-payments for physician visits and other medical services.

Individual

An individual plan for Healthy New York has several requirements. You must be a New York State resident and currently employed or have been employed within the last 12 months. You must not have any health insurance for a period of 12 months prior to application unless there is a special circumstance like loss of employment, divorce, change of employment or other qualifying events. Maximum monthly income for individual qualification is $2,269. This also increases according to family size: $3,861 for a family of three and $4,657 for a family of four.

Sole Proprietor

Sole Proprietors and individuals are treated similarly. The same residency and maximum household income requirements must be met. Sole proprietors may have fluctuating income throughout the year. Exceeding the monthly income does not automatically disqualify you from the program. A proof of income is required annually as a basis for renewal. You will be re-certified every year as long as you stay within the guidelines.

Small Business

Employers find it challenging to provide employees with affordable coverage. With Healthy New York, small businesses can provide affordable insurance coverage to their employees. Certain requirements must be met in order for businesses to be eligible for participation in the program. As of 2011, guidelines include that the business must not currently offer comprehensive group coverage; located in New York State; has 1 to 50 employees 30% of which must have an annual income of $40,000 or less. Businesses should also ensure a participation rate of at least 50% in the program and contribute half of the employees’ premium.